welcome to nhk world "newsline." i'm gene otani in tokyo. here's a look at some of the stories we're following this hour. japanese share prices took a beating. the key index lost more points in one day than it had for 13 years. recovery work is in full swing in oklahoma after monday's deadly tornado tore through the u.s. state.

china's oscar winning composer's symphony has been showcased in tokyo. investors in japan's stock market got a jolt. shares have been rallying on hopes for economic turnaround but the tokyo stock market had its biggest sell-off in more than a decade. the nikkei averaged ended, down 7.3%, or 14483 points from wednesday's close. that was the biggest one-day point loss in 13 years. trading volume hit a record. we spoke to people on the street to get their views, the ones we met seemed to take the news in stride. >> translator: i think stock prices have been going up too sharply so the pullback is not surprising. >> translator: i don't expect share prices will continue to go down. i certainly want prices to go up. >> the nikkei average had risen

15900 in early trading but in the afternoon the index plummeted. analysts said two things triggered the slide, one was a rise in the yen. the other was data suggesting weakness in china's manufacturing sector. hong kong released the china purchasing manager's flash report. the index hit a seven-month low of 49.6, under the boom or bust line of 50. some market watchers say stock were ripe for a fall. people who analyze trading patterns say the stocks were technically overbought. thursday's market volatility did not disturb japan's revitalization minister akira amari. >> translator: we can easily imagine a sharp fall in share prices naturally sends the yen higher. the government will do what we should do without being deterred by what's happened in the markets.

that means we'll come up with a growth plan and promptly put it into practice. >> amari added he will closely watch market movements. we asked yuuki sakurai head of fukuoka capital management for his analysis on tokyo stocks. >> the rumors in the market because of the bad economic indices was shown from china but i don't think that is the only reason. i think the other reason is the market went up too fast, maybe overheatin especially when it exceeded 15,000 level, people start to feel there was achievement of the target for the moment. the other reason may be is that there's a concern in the market that by use of these interview with mr. kuroda of bank of japan, it seems that he's not too much worried about the bond yield hike, which is obviously it's not very good news for

japanese equity market. so all this reasons combine together, i think the market has started to feel that it's maybe a good time to sell for the moment. however, having said that, i don't think this is the phase of decline at the moment. people just wanted to make and to realize the profit they had for the moment and see what is going to happen for their next market movement. the most important things is to see how the growth strategy of the abe government is going to proceed, especially before the upper house election. they're waiting for the equity market. other asian stock markets also fell. declines are across the board. china's data weighed heavily on sentiment. also comments from ben bernanke

dampenned sentiment. he said they could scale down the asset buying program by the end of the year. in sydney they ended down 2%. mainland chinese was a week low, it fell 1.16%. investors sold major issues like banks and oil companies. in hong kong, they fell and extended to to three days. it went to 262,669 down 2.5%. one analyst said the chinese impact as a big impact on the market as a hole. she a fellow at the jujitsu research institute. >> in regard to china, several important questions are being

raised. first, what about the growth rate, which is currently less than 8% in the last three quarters. and then chinese export is beginning to show some sign of weakness. this is partly due to the weak demand in europe. but more importantly, the wage in china has been going up so rapidly, that their losing competitiveness in the international market. thirdly, there is stalk in the recent past about the hidden debt of chinese local governments. then comes the industry's overcapacity which is very difficult to get rid of, and environmental problems getting even more serious. all of these things are coming

together to make us a little bit cautious or pessimistic about the future of the chinese economy. >> here are the latest market figures. british police are trying to determine the motives of two men suspected of a grisly killing on a london street. government officials believe the suspects may have links to muslim extremists. the attack took place in the city's southeast. witnesses said the assailants

killed a man with a knife and a meat cleaver. police officers shot the suspects and sent them to a hospital for treatment. authorities have not identified the victim. british media say he's thought to be a soldier from a nearby barracks. witnesses said the suspects did not flee the scene but urged onlookers to film them. one suspect said he and his partner were avenging the killings of muslims. more than 100 anti-muslim activists gathered near the site of the attack and scuffled with police. >> people across britain, people in every community, i believe, will utterly condemn this attack. we have had these sorts of attacks before in our country, and we never buckle in the face of them. >> the british government has tightened security. the head of london's police force has launched an investigation. anti-terrorism officials will take the lead. people in the u.s. state of oklahoma are beginning to pick up the pieces after a tornado

that killed 24 people. the rescue effort is nearly over. officials are nosing on supporting survivors. the tornado struck oklahoma on monday. among the dead were ten children. 324 others were injured. officials say the tornado destroyed or damaged more than 12,000 houses and affected 33,000 people. they estimate the damage at $2 billion. >> this is going to be a long recovery process. there are many, many needs with our families and individuals. >> two elementary schools took direct hits. they had no emergency shelters. locals are calling for stronger defenses. the state government is creating a fund to help residents build underground shelters. the mayor of the most severely damaged city says he'll propose a new ordinance requiring a reinforced shelter in every new home. japanese diplomats have

lodged a complaint with the editors of a south korea an newspaper. a commentary describes the u.s. atomic bombings of japans a divine punishment. the peace was published on monday's edition. the writer claims the atomic bombings were revenge for the crick victims of japan's research on biological warfare. the team operated in china during world war ii. japan's chief cabinet secretary suga says it was disgraceful. >> translator: japan is the only country to have suffered nuclear attacks. so we will never tolerate such views. >> suga added that it's important for the people of both countries to stay calm. officials have said the article represents the author's personal view. the mayors have added their voices to the criticism.

hiroshima mayor said the reasoning the bombs were divine punishment is despicable. >> translator: i can't understand why the author would hurt japanese and south koreans who understand how bomb survivors feel. i don't want him to do this again. >> nagasaki mayor said readers could see the column as an attempt to condone the use of nuclear weapons in retaliation. he urged them to build stronger friendships. >> translator: it's important to keep working together to build friendly relations. >> the mayor said people are prone to making controversial statements because relations between japan and korea have worsened. the u.s. secretary of state's views on the atomic bombing of japan are revealed in a newly discovered letter.

john kerry said no human being should be subject todd a bomb begin. john kerry wrote to a survivor in hiroshima 28 years ago. he said no human being should ever be subjected to the tragedy of a nuclear bomb again. kerry sent the letter to takahashi. he served as director of the him ship what peace memorial museum. takahashi died two years ago and wrote to kerry in 1984. he heard the newly elected senator opposed nuclear development. takahashi described his experiences as an atomic bomb survivor and called for the abolition of nuclear weapons. kerry sent a reply the following year. he said his letter was very moving and no one should forget its message. takahashi's widow found his letter at home. he wants kerry to urge president obama to push for the abolition of nuclear weapons. two global leaders are on a mission for peace and economic development in one of africa's most troubled regions. the u.n. secretary and world

bank president are in the democratic republic of congo. they'll also travel to rwanda. they met with congo's president and discussed a flair up in fighting near the eastern city of goma. >> we are deeply concerned about the arenrecent recurrence of violence. >> he says he'll visit goma to see the situation by hand. they brokered a peace deal in february to end years of violence. kim announced $1 billion in new aid for the region. he said the funds will be used to improve education, medical care, and build hydroelectric facilities.

africa. a continent of promise and plunder. more than one billion people in 50 countries fill a cultural mosaic. "newsline" is looking at the challenges and the opportunities on continent in a lead up to a conference in tokyo. don't miss our coverage on may 27. japanese adventurer has reached the top of mount everest at the age of 80. this is not his first attempt, he beat it twice before at the ages of 70 and 75. nhk world explains miura's passion for adventure. >> reporter: muira at base camp at 5300 meters in napal may

16th. he climbed several sections. this included the ice fall at the head of the crumbling glacier and the lhotse face. on thursday, miura set out from a camp at an altitude of 8,500 meters for the final stretch. around 12:15 japan time miura reached the summit of the 8,848-meter mountain. miura has sought adventure all of his life. in his 30s he skied down japan's

highest mountain, mount fuji. miura had skied down the highest mountains of the seven continents by the age of 53. but miura also suffered setbacks. in his 60s, he gained so much weight that he could hardly climb at all. he worked hard to regain his strength. then at the age of 70 he reached the top of mt. everest for the first time. he made another assent when he was 75. he broke his leg at the age of 76. he had two heart operations when he was 80 years old, but he overcame those difficulties. miura's determination has impressed many elderly people. >> we're proud of him. we're encouraged by what he did.

>> translator: it's wonderful. you've got to keep looking for new challenges. i'm practicing my shamison. >> reporter: miura's achievement at the age of 80 has encouraged the young and elderly, as well as those who want to stay young at heart. jun yotsomoto, nhk world, tokyo. china's award winning composer dun is known for his originality. he describes his latest symphony as yesterday's world with

tomorrows. and it's influenced by a little known chinese language spoken in a previous era. >> he has worldwide praise, an oscar, a grammy, and four others. it took him four years to compose this music piece. >> not many people are sure how yu shu was organized. they weren't taught to read and write chinese, so they used yu shu. >> reading this piece, written more than a century ago, i feel as if i was listening to a symphony. i feel as though notes and music were coming out of the script.

women back then were not free to make their own choices. when they were girls they were often married to strangers and they lived a life of uncertainty. nu shu captures what these women felt. ♪ >> what were the authors thinking when they wrote in nu shu. to find out, tan often met with the six remaining women that knew the language. while he was there, he also recorded hours of footage.

>> i videotaped some footage to go with the music. the music represents the future, and the footage represents the past. through with the dialogue of the two times, i would like to present viewers with an illus n illusionary world. >> the painstaking process ended up as a grand 13 movement symphony. he titled it "the secret songs of women." nu shu depicted the sorrow of

the women's history, but the last one shows their vigor. >> it's about their dream, how much they care about their children, husband, how much they care about family, and how much they care about life. humans. the renowned composers symphony is an archaic song. it's about sorrow, duty, and

getting on with life. many musicians dream of performing at new york's carnegie hall. a group of disabled singers from japan has done just that. members of a nonprofit group organized the con sere. they help disabled people take part in musical activities. there was a choir, local performers, and musicians. they performed a version of beethoven's ninth symphony. ♪ the event planner says the

singers experience will give them the confidence to overcome difficulties. the rainy season is here for southern china, robert speta is here with the details. >> it is, across much of southern japan here, we saw about 200 millimeters of rainfall. it will start to clear up down here by the weekend as this pressure pushes off to the east, but it is the rainy season and it's not staying quiet for long. southeastern china, you're getting a little break. there was several landslides reported there in hong kong. on friday you can expect up to 50 to 100 millimeters of rainfall. saturday it will be upwards of

200 millimeters expected. that's when you'll start to see precipitation going into sunday. another round of weather and off towards japan by early next week, this system will push in. for now, the weekend looking like rather decent weather across much of korea and extending here towards japan. temperatures here in tokyo, 26, and rain showers. hong kong you're getting a break from the bulk of the activity. let's look at america. the big topic here is the continuation of the severe weather. we have that low pressure pushing off toward the northeast, yesterday. it is into the ohio river valley. still a severe weather threat is here. to new england you will see heavy showers, but there's a new threat area, and that is really the threat that we saw earlier

in the week. here in northern texas, western oklahoma. the main threat is large hail, up to tennis ball size. and this will affect more when we saw that massive f 5 tornado push through. we do not need my more rough weather, but it does look like it will be possible, especially through the afternoon hours here as you push through your thursday and that low continues to linger. we'll continue to watch that through the coming days. in the pacific northwest, rainshowers here for you and snow possible in the higher elevatio elevations. to the east, warmer temperatures. it's cooling off behind that front as it pushing through new england. let's look at europe and really a few areas we want to talk about here. italy, rough weather for you,

austria, and you 100 kilometer winds. look at western russia. we have seen cloud cover there and it has been unstable. i want to show you a video from just south of moscow. look at this tornado. residents in russia experienced this highly unusual natural phenomena for this region. strong wind and hail injured some people. one person was hospitalized. it damaged many trees, vehicles, and about 200 structures. 1500 people are now left without power. police there are helping with the recovery efforts, but really rough stuff. farther off to the west, we're seeing things cool down across much of the u.k. temperatures diving down there, talking about cooling off in london, just ten here on your friday. here is your extended forecast.

that's "newsline" for this hour, i'm gene otani in tokyo.

for all of us here at nhk world, thank you for joining us.

japanese people buy clothing made all over the world.